My Little Bride
by Neyunnie
Summary: AU. What are two childhood friends, Xion and Roxas, to do when they're suddenly left with no choice but to marry one another? Marry, of course, especially if it's a promise made between their grandfathers. Together, they're forced to start a new life as husband and wife, but will the two eventually do that when their minds and hearts aren't in it…? Rokushi. Slight Xion/Riku.
1. Home Sweet Home?

A/N: Hello, everyone! Neyu here~ This is a rewrite of my old fanfic, My Little Bride, that I originally wrote five years ago, and all I can say that this has been _way_ overdue. I think I had lost motivation to continue writing for it because I was basing it really heavily off of the Korean movie, My Little Bride, and it wasn't going too well;; So I've decided to rewrite the entire thing (not like there was much anyway lol) because I have a shameless passion to write a Rokushi fanfic;;

I'd like to add that while although the beginning chapters may closely follow the earlier events in the Korean movie, I've decided to mostly make this fanfic inspired by the movie. I'll be changing _a lot_ of its contents to make the characters less OOC in this AU and the overall story more enjoyable for you guys and myself~

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy and possibly stick with me as I write this!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Home Sweet Home?**

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have started our descent in preparation for landing. Please make sure that your seat belt is securely fastened and that all carry-on luggage are stowed in their designated areas. Please turn off all electronic devices until we land. Thank you for flying with us today, and we hope to see you again on a future flight!"

Finally.

It had been about roughly eighteen hours ever since Roxas had first sat into his uncomfortable seat, and he couldn't have been any more happier to get up and leave the plane the moment he was allowed to. If he had to stay any longer in that seat, he feared that his body would remain sore for eternity.

He let out a small groan, shifting his body slightly until he looked out of the small window to see the breathtaking sight of the beautiful, red warm sunset that enveloped Twilight Town.

It had been a few years ever since he left to serve in the Kingdom Army. For the past few years, he went through possibly the hardest times in his life that he definitely didn't want to relive again, almost as if it was a bad dream. At that moment, he was more than grateful to be coming back home to his family and friends whom he had all dearly missed.

In his hands was a worn-out photo of a girl, who seemed to be in middle school at the time the photo was taken. Holding up the photo to his face, Roxas gazed fondly at it, his thumb having smoothed over the worn surface too many times for him to count now.

He wondered if she had changed ever since. Did she grow her hair out? Did she grow taller? Was she still frail, or did she get any stronger? Was she still as bright as she had always been?

He didn't realize the wistful sigh he had released until the woman sitting next to him on the flight had glanced over at him incredulously with a raised eyebrow, to which he quickly slipped the photo back in its place in his wallet all the while feeling embarrassed for having been caught staring at a photo of a young girl for the past five minutes.

But his embarrassment soon faded when he thought about it. They were practically inseparable when they were children, and their bond had formed into one similar to that of siblings.

 _Right._ _She's like my sister and my close friend. It's not weird that I'm wondering if she's changed…right?_

 _Right._

The woman had gone back to the magazine she was reading in her hands, crossing her legs as she adjusted herself ever so subtly in a more comfortable position. Her lips pursed as her eyes scanned the magazine's contents, and Roxas couldn't help but notice how revealing her outfit was when he glanced over, silently hoping that a certain girl wasn't dressing herself in these types of clothes especially with the current fashion trends.

It wasn't much longer before the plane landed at Twilight Town's airport, and the passengers were flooding out of the plane in swarms as they all went their separate ways toward their desired designations.

The moment Roxas set foot onto his world's land, he felt overly ecstatic, the fear that him coming home being just a hopeless dream completely banished.

Well…he wasn't exactly home yet, for he was still at the airport and was now facing a slight problem.

The airport had obviously gone through several renovations the last time he had been there, so he hadn't the slightest idea where to go despite the many signs displayed around him.

On top of that, where was his family? He had been expecting them to be waiting outside, but was disappointed when the only people he saw waiting were those who had no business with him whatsoever.

 _I should probably call mom…_ Rummaging through his pockets for his phone while walking away from the arrival area with his heavy luggage in tow, he passed by an ice cream store that had a flyer saying "Every flavor available!" displayed on its window. Momentarily distracted by the advertisement as a newfound craving for a certain flavor of ice cream grew inside of him at the sight of the flyer, he silently cursed when he felt his phone slip out of his grasp before it clattered onto the floor a small distance away from him.

"...Seriously? It says that there's 'Every flavor available'…but I don't see sea-salt—Hm?"

The phone stopped beside a fuming girl, diverting her attention away from the ice cream store in front of her and down to the phone at her feet. Roxas immediately turned around to retrieve his phone, but the girl had bent down to pick up the device. As she stood back up, he was about to apologize, embarrassed again for the second time that day, until she did something the next second that caught him completely off guard.

"Roxas!"

Before he could fully comprehend the situation, a strong force almost made him topple backwards onto the ground if not for his quick reflexes when the girl suddenly threw herself at him—quite literally, might he add. "Wait—what the—?"

He was dumbfounded. The girl who had been standing in front of the ice cream store was now latching herself tightly onto him, and Roxas didn't have a single clue who in the worlds this girl was. That is, until she finally removed her face from practically smothering it in his chest before looking at him with a huge smile on her face.

It took Roxas a full three seconds to recognize her, partly because half of him was in disbelief while the other was in surprise.

It was her. The one in the photo.

Xion.

… _Am I dreaming? Please tell me I'm not, again._

A light smack on the cheek snapped Roxas out of his reverie, bringing him back to reality as he took another good look at her to make sure it was her, her laughter almost a sweet melody in his ears.

She had changed, simply to say. Gone were the baby fat in her own cheeks, her face more slim and feminine as her hair, which had been trimmed shorter, remained to be ebony black in color. Her eyes, which he couldn't have thought could get any more bluer, were practically cerulean as she gazed back at him with delight. She was still petite in stature, but he couldn't help the reddening of the tip of his ears when he realized that her body was more softer and curvaceous than before, for she was so close to him.

 _Really_ _close, actually._

Mentally slapping himself before his thoughts became more indecent and unbrotherly, he came to the acceptance that it really was Xion, his childhood friend and the girl who he had been missing for the past few years.

Xion had detached herself from his body at his lack of speech, beginning to worry if she had possibly gotten the wrong person. If so, that would explain him standing there like a frozen statue and his surprised expression, and no doubt would she want to run away in embarrassment if it really was the case. "U-Uhm—?"

She let out a small squeak of surprise when the guy in front of her suddenly dropped all of his luggage onto the floor, enveloping her in a tight hug of his own.

"It's really you," Roxas said almost breathlessly, feeling a smile grow on his face. "Damn, you've grown."

Xion giggled. "Of course. It's been a few years, dummy." To that, Roxas chuckled in agreement.

"Oh." Breaking away, Xion handed him his dropped phone. "This is yours, isn't it? Man, if I hadn't realized it was you, I would have kicked your ass for using such a lame way to look under my skirt," she said jokingly, causing Roxas to sweatdrop and thank the Hearts that wasn't the case.

"Thanks," he said, taking the phone from her before slipping it back in his pocket. Since Xion was here, he figured that there wasn't a need to call his mother anymore. If anything, it was probably her who sent Xion here to pick him up instead anyway.

"Come on. Let's go," the raven-haired girl said, brushing past him and grabbing one of his suitcases before he could protest. "We need to catch the bus!" With that, she sped off towards the direction he assumed was where the bus port was.

Roxas watched her retreating back, letting out a sigh. He couldn't say that he hadn't expected her to grow ever since he had last seen her when she was still little, but this much was kind of a bit of a shock to him.

 _I'll just have to get used to it,_ he thought, having a nagging feeling that there was probably more than Xion who had changed at his return.

* * *

"Stop staring. You'll sprain your eyes."

Roxas had been staring attentively outside of the window the moment the bus left the airport, almost as if he was a little kid who was experiencing his first time in the city. "Hey, give me a break," he replied with a light laugh, giving one final good look out of the window before straightening in his seat.

The two of them were seated in the very back of a city bus, which was practically full to the brim. Attempting to get comfortable as the snoring man beside him was leaning more and more towards him with every bump the bus rode over, Roxas scooted closer to Xion, who only giggled behind her hand, knowing that he didn't want to have a stranger to be sleeping on his shoulder at this rate on his first day back at his world.

"Anyway…" Roxas began, causing the girl to look up at him, "What brings you here?" Meeting her eyes, he couldn't help but joke with a playful smile, "Missed me so much that you had to go and skip school?"

At that, Xion rolled her eyes, but she couldn't deny that she did indeed miss him. Not that she'd say that outright though.

"No, we're on break. It's the last day today," she replied before giving out a dramatic, annoyed sigh. "And I was forced to come here when I was in the middle of studying!"

Roxas couldn't help the burst of laughter that escaped from his lips. "Sure you were." He only laughed harder when the girl smacked him on the shoulder with a pout, only confirming that he was right.

For as long as he had known her ever since she was born, Xion was never one to excel in her studies. Of course, she would try her hardest and study until she was barely alive and awake the next day, but in the end, she would always come home with big, fat tears about to spill over from her eyes and a big pout on her face when she brought back a failing grade most of the time. How she was able to avoid having to repeat a year was always a wonder to Roxas, but he knew that if it was her break, she was more than probably trying to sleep in instead of studying.

Sure enough, Roxas had caught her lie, seeing right through her.

"Blame our parents and my stupid brother!" she huffed, her eye beginning to twitch as her memories from earlier that day reappeared in her head.

* * *

"Oi—wake up!"

"Ugh…" Xion groaned groggily at the overly loud voice, feeling her temper rise when she realized that the speaker was doing it on purpose. "Go away…" she mumbled out in annoyance, her words almost undecipherable when she stuffed her face into her pillow as she threw her blanket over her head.

A hand suddenly yanked her blanket off of her body before it began to poke the unruly black nest on her head repeatedly, causing Xion to blindly attempt to slap it away only to no avail and leaving her shivering from the cold winter air.

The hand's owner only snorted at his sleepy mess of a little sister. "Waaake up," he drawled out, continuing to poke her and knowing fully well that it was annoying the hell out of her.

"Oh my Hearts—stop it, Vanitas!" she seethed, finally sitting up to slap her brother's hand away—with success this time—as she glowered at him.

Vanitas stood there with a hand shoved casually in one of the pockets of his sweatpants, that signature smirk of his on his features. Somehow, that smirk always made girls' legs melt like jelly whenever he would make eye contact with them, and this happened all the time without fail. Xion just looked at him with disgust, wanting to do nothing but slap that stupid smirk from his face. Why, oh why, in the worlds was Vanitas, of all people, her older brother?

"Hurry and get your ass out of bed," he said, pushing a finger against his sister's exposed forehead with force, almost making her fall backwards on her bed. Before she could smack him in return, he was already walking out of her bedroom door, snickering. "Mom and Tifa need you."

Alone in her room, Xion heaved out a big sigh, tossing her bed sheets aside before dragging herself to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

It didn't take her long before she was walking out to the living room in her daily attire to see the two mothers there. Aerith, Vanitas' and her mother, and Tifa, Roxas' mother, were both equally excited for some reason.

Xion wasn't surprised in the slightest to see Tifa there in her house. Despite there being no blood relation whatsoever between them, their families were so insanely close with another to the point that their houses were actually connected with a small terrace that separated them. It was because of their close bond that the two families seemed to act as only one.

"Mom? Tifa?" she called out as she approached them, catching their attention. "What's going—"

"Xion!"

In a split second, the two mothers had rushed over to the girl, almost causing her to take a step back in surprise.

"You're finally awake!" Aerith said, grabbing one of Xion's arms, "Oh good, it looks like you're ready to go too!"

" _Go_?" Xion repeated, now confused. "Go where?"

"To the airport!" Tifa answered, grabbing her other arm.

"Eh?" Before she could question them any further, she was unceremoniously dragged out of the house, where a taxi cab was waiting out patiently in front.

"Do a little favor for me, will you, Xion?" Tifa said in a tone that was not kindly asking in the slightest, slipping a scrap of paper in the still-confused girl's hands as they shoved her into the car.

"W-Wait—what—?" Xion could only stammer out before the door was promptly slammed in her face, watching speechlessly in disbelief as the two women waved her away with sweet smiles on their faces. "What in the worlds...?"

Remembering that Tifa had slipped something in her hands, she looked down to read what was on it, figuring that it would give her a hint as to why she was suddenly forced to go to the airport by herself. _Oh okay, so there's the gate number, the arrival time, and—_

She could only gasp in surprise when she finally saw his name.

* * *

Roxas chuckled, having an inkling as to what had happened to Xion before his arrival after seeing her strained expression.

He couldn't blame them, since his return back home was more abrupt than something that could be marked down on a calendar and counted down from.

It just so happened that he was able to be discharged from the Kingdom Army when he received a letter of urgency from his mother, stating that they needed him to come home right away, for Xion's grandfather had fallen ill. Without a moment's hesitation, Roxas got on a flight straight to Twilight Town. No doubt did Xion only figure out that he was coming back just this morning.

"We're here," Xion suddenly announced, beginning to stand up as their houses came into view.

Once the bus had reached the stop near their homes, Xion immediately got off, speeding towards Roxas' home first to see if their families were there. Roxas, seeing how she ran to her own house after checking his without luck, assumed that they were probably all gathered in there as he hauled his luggage off of the bus.

"My son!" At the sound of his mother's voice, Roxas turned around, seeing Tifa running towards him with her arms held out. "My son's finally home!" Expecting to give her a hug, he instead let out a grunt when she pulled him into a headlock. Behind her, some of their family members came out to greet him, smiles all on their faces save for his father's.

"Mom! How have you been?" Roxas asked, laughing as she let him go. She definitely was doing well.

"Welcome home," a voice cut in, causing the blonde to look up at the speaker.

"Thanks, dad." Never one to be a man of hugs and kisses, Cloud opted to give Roxas a fatherly ruffle on the head before Zack, Xion's father, engulfed him in a hug.

"How was your flight?" he asked, a grin on his face.

"Tiring," Roxas replied, eliciting a laugh from the man. He noticed Aerith nearby and shrugged her goofy husband off of him before giving her a hug himself. "How have you been?"

With a smile, Aerith in return patted him on the back. "Good."

"Let's come in." Seeing that all of the greetings had been exchanged, Cloud took that moment to urge them inside, not wanting to keep a certain person waiting. "Grandfather's waiting. Hurry."

"Okay," Roxas said, starting to reach for his luggage, but his mom beat him to it. "Mom, it's heavy. I'll carry it." The only response he got from her was a playful stern look that told him otherwise as she carried one of Roxas' heavier suitcases easily, almost as if it contained only air.

Everyone quickly hustled inside of the house, chatting happily amongst each other now that their other son was finally back. Before his mother could go inside though, Roxas stopped his mother, hoping to get some answers. After all, it was her who had sent that letter.

"What's with the rush?" he asked, noting how all of the adults were eager to go back in. Peeking in the door briefly to see if anybody was lingering around to possibly overhear, he asked in a smaller voice with concern, "Is grandfather really sick?"

Tifa glanced quickly at the door also before resting her eyes on Roxas. "Brace yourself, okay?" she said solemnly, patting his shoulder. With that simple statement, she went in.

It was obvious that the adults knew what was going on, but they weren't telling.

 _Brace myself for what…?_

* * *

Roxas watched silently as Xion spoon-fed her grandfather, Eraqus, of its contents from the bowl she was holding in her hands, after having put his luggage to the side and taken a needed shower.

To be honest, Eraqus wasn't Roxas' grandfather; he was Xion's. Even so, since their families were so close, Roxas grew to treat him as his own grandfather and to call him such, and Eraqus in turn treated him likewise as if he was his other grandson.

"Delicious, isn't it?" Xion put the empty bowl aside on the table, smiling sweetly at the elder man in front of her. "I made it myself just for you, grandpa," she said in a proud tone, to which Eraqus chuckled at.

"Very delicious," he said, nodding in appreciation. "No one but you can take such good care of me."

"Of course," Xion said, grabbing ahold of his hands, "I'm your only granddaughter."

It seemed to have struck a chord, for Eraqus had let out a small sigh as he gave Xion's hands a short, yet firm squeeze. "You've really grown. You look like a lady," he commented wistfully.

"She may have grown, but she's still a child," Aerith added in from the other room across from them, where she and Tifa were preparing for dinner. Their husbands were casually talking to one another from nearby, helping out also, although having been forced to. Vanitas, who Roxas had greeted earlier with a friendly, brotherly hug and a promise to spar later, was sprawled out on the floor lazily. Seeing their families together in peaceful harmony brought a small smile to Roxas' face.

However, Xion only pouted. _Why does everybody keep on telling me that I've grown?_ "I'd be married in the old days, mom," she retorted over her shoulder, before turning back to Eraqus, "Right, grandpa?"

"Absolutely. A married woman," he agreed with an underlying smile, to which the blonde didn't miss. "Roxas." He brought his attention to the elder man, who motioned for him to sit by Xion. "Come sit here."

"Yes, grandfather," Roxas said, heeding to his request and scooting closer to them until he was practically touching knees with Xion, but she made no attempt to move away. They were both now sitting in front of Eraqus side-by-side, who remained silent for a moment.

"You two…" he began, locking eyes with the two, "Hear me out." Reaching out, he grabbed Roxas' hand so that he was now holding one of their hands in each of his own. "You may have heard of this story before… Roxas' grandfather was an old friend and war comrade of mines during the Keyblade War."

At this, Roxas noticed how their families behind them had shared knowing glances at one another, stopping what they were currently doing in order to listen also as they felt the atmosphere change.

"When we were younger, we made a pact: to marry our kids."

"But you two only had sons," Xion commented in confusion, hinting at Zack and Cloud. As Roxas listened, the nagging feeling from earlier was back.

"Indeed. So our pact was passed down to the next generation." Giving the two in front of him a serious look, he continued, "I hope you two can help me keep this promise."

Processing those words in just a few seconds, Roxas almost felt his heart stop.

Xion, on the other hand, was clueless. Millions of thoughts streamed haphazardly in her head as she tried to decipher what her grandfather was saying, but it only proved to confuse her further. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was excruciatingly slow when it came to things that were not said in an outright manner. Cocking her head to the side, she gave her grandfather a helpless look. "…Grandpa, I-I don't understand what you're getting at," she said meekly.

At that moment, someone behind her gave out a huge groan of exasperation, catching the attention of everybody in the house. Vanitas had pushed himself into a sitting position, giving his little sister a look of disbelief as he pressed a hand to his face.

"Oh, _for Hearts' sake_ —Are you serious, Xion?"

Said girl whipped her head around to glare at her brother and his outburst. Before she could give him a snarky reply, she was cut off when he had reached over to flick her on the forehead. "Ow! What was that for?!" she whined. Oh, how badly she wanted to get him back for attacking her forehead _again_ , but she held back, not wanting to do so in front of adults.

Knowing that she couldn't do anything in that current situation, an arrogant smirk was plastered on his lips. He proceeded to reiterate his grandfather's words in simpler terms, although from the look that dawned on Roxas' face, he knew that he didn't need it.

"He's telling you two idiots to get married."

* * *

A/N: And there's the first chapter! Took me a bit of time to try and set the beginning like I wanted to, but hopefully you guys don't mind the roles I placed on the other characters, ahaha;; I had to give it some deep thought, and ended up with this. Don't worry; it's not all of them. More characters will be introduced soon!

I'd really appreciate it if you guys could give me any feedback and whatnot! Since I'm finally getting out of a writing slump after about three years, I'm sure it'd help me lots! Anyway, thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more!


	2. Denial

A/N: This chapter is mostly where the original fanfic stopped at (which I find sad on my part lol), and where some fresh content finally comes in~ Also, I'll warn you now that the lengths of these chapters are going to vary, so hopefully you guys won't get annoyed at that ahaha;; I just hope I'll be able to continue to be motivated to write and update this at a regular pace without extended gaps in between;;

Without further ado, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Denial**

Silence.

That was all that could be heard as the words finally sunk in.

Xion was speechless at this entire revelation. The rest of the family, however, opted to remain silent, having known about the situation beforehand privately.

Roxas, having been silent ever since her grandfather began his speech and further shocked into more silence after, finally found the will to speak.

"…Marriage?"

Saying that word in a tone of complete disbelief, Roxas searched Eraqus' face, hoping that maybe, just maybe, what the old man had requested of them was just an illusion, a slip of the tongue, anything. Bursting into nervous chuckles, he couldn't help but exclaim in a forced, lighthearted tone, "You must be joking, grandfather!"

 _It has to be._

"That's right!" Xion added in agreement, snapping out of her speechless trance a second later. "Me? Marry Roxas?" She pointed at the blonde sitting next to her, and as if on cue, the two began to laugh almost hysterically, finding the sudden situation to be ridiculous.

" _Hey!_ " Eraqus finally snapped, immediately cutting the two's laughter off at his serious tone. "This isn't a joking matter! The only way I'll be able to die peacefully and face Roxas' grandfather is when the two of you get married!"

"But how can a _high school student_ get married?!" Xion suddenly exclaimed in exasperation, her anger finally getting the best of her at the absurdity of it all.

She couldn't believe this. She was only _sixteen_ , for Hearts' sake! Marriage was seriously at the least of her concerns. She still needed to graduate high school, attend college, and get a job! She barely was just beginning to prepare herself for the real word, so how could her grandfather just throw such a matter at her like it wasn't going to change her life _forever_?

Indeed, she loved her grandfather deeply, and she swore mentally that she would do anything for him, but not _this_. It wasn't like there was anything wrong with Roxas, but if she wanted to marry someone, at least she wanted to marry someone who she loved when she was older.

 _Someone like—_ She shook her head.

Eraqus and the rest of their family members seemed to have been prepared for that question, Roxas noticed, because Zack answered her, albeit hesitantly at seeing his daughter practically fuming. "…Xion, anyone at the age of sixteen can marry with their parents' consent."

She was baffled, once again. _Wow._ Even their families were in for this entire thing? Did they not care about what her and Roxas felt about the consequences of her grandfather's request?

 _Plus…_ Her friends. Her school. His friends and acquaintances. His workplace. What would they all think about this? Wouldn't they all find this absurd too? Wouldn't they judge them?

"I haven't much time left, you know?" Eraqus pleaded, a sorrowful expression on his face. The entire room stilled in anticipation, awaiting their responses from the two. Time seemed to stretch on, the silence almost straining both her family and them.

. . . No.

 _No._

She couldn't do it.

"…I won't," Xion finally said, shocking everyone in the room. As if her resolution had strengthened after saying that, she looked at her grandfather in the eye, a flame almost burning within the depths of her sapphire eyes. "Never."

And with that, she promptly stood up and left the room.

Roxas, on the other hand, gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry, grandfather. I'll forget what you just said," he said in a tone that was almost deathly quiet before getting up to leave soon after.

Just as Roxas was about to step out of the front door, Cloud had recovered from his initial shock. "Hey, you— He hasn't finished speaking!" But Roxas promptly shut the door closed after him, not listening to his father's words.

Everyone was stunned. Xion was never one to be defiant, and this was probably the first time that she had made an outburst of anger in front of their families. Roxas was usually the hotheaded one, but this time, he had restrained himself. It was as if their personalities had switched.

Vanitas whistled a low note, impressed and amused at the same time.

Nobody had expected things to have escalated as badly as it did just now.

* * *

Xion stormed out of her house, overcome with anger and disbelief. In a span of half an hour, she felt like her life had turned upside down.

 _This has to be just a bad joke._

She almost wanted to cry.

Why was this happening?

She couldn't even think straight anymore.

Hearing the front door open and close behind her, Xion quickly wiped away the forming tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes, not wanting whoever it was to see her upset. Turning around, she saw that it was Roxas, who had an expression on his face that she couldn't quite make out.

Blue eyes met blue, and at that moment, the two didn't know what to say to one another, let alone to themselves.

Roxas broke eye contact first, and Xion didn't know why her anger had resurfaced once again at his actions. Muttering undecipherable words under her breath darkly, she turned on her heel and walked away, wanting nothing but peace and quiet alone.

"I'm speechless myself!" Roxas shouted after her, agitation laced in his voice as he watched her retreating back.

Letting out a disgruntled groan once she was out of sight, he roughly ran a hand through his blonde spikes, not caring if his hair was now tousled and sticking up in ungodly ways.

He, himself, couldn't think straight either.

And right now, all he wanted was to get his mind off of what had just happened, and there was only one way he knew how.

* * *

"It's me. I'm back."

" _Huh?"_

Roxas chuckled, not surprised at the person's reaction on the other end of the line. After all, he mostly kept his return a secret, even to his close friends. "I'm back in Twilight Town."

" _Twilight Town…?"_ There was a slight pause after a moment of confusion. _"Wait, dude, are you serious?"_

"Yes, I'm serious," Roxas assured, laughing, "I'm standing in front of the department building right now."

" _What the—why didn't you tell us?!"_

"Well, I am right now, aren't I?" Roxas shot back smartly, his lips quirking into an amused smile.

" _You little—"_

"I know, I know, Axel," the blonde said, cutting him off before the redhead could begin to berate him even more. "Let's get together with Sora later, alright?"

He could practically hear Axel's smirk from the other end of the line. _"Damn right we are."_

Hanging up the phone, Roxas gazed up at his college before him. It had been a little more than a few years ever since he was last here, having been served in the Kingdom Army as every male in the worlds were mandated to do due to growing concerns over a second Keyblade War.

Typically, the required amount of time needed to serve in the army was roughly about two years before they were released, but Roxas, ever the determined and loyal one who realized he would be a valuable asset to the army, decided to stay in order to protect the worlds and especially his home. Now that there weren't any current conflicts left that could potentially endanger any of the worlds, he was discharged.

Well, the term 'discharged' was used loosely when it came to the Kingdom Army.

It didn't mean that he was officially free from the army, for if there were any urgent situations that arose in the future, he would have to go back. Because of that, the Kingdom Army conducted boot camps every so often to ensure that none of the soldiers were out of practice and shape.

But Roxas wasn't worried about that for now. There weren't any current issues that were going to endanger any worlds as far as he knew, and the boot camp wasn't going to be held any time soon.

Pushing the entrance doors open, Roxas felt as if he was stepping into a territory that felt familiar yet wasn't at the same time. Ever since he came back, he had been feeling this way everywhere he went.

He let out a small sigh.

 _It's going to take me a while to get used to it, won't it?_

* * *

Roxas took his time to walk to his designation, looking around on his way to see if there were any changes. While there were a few slight changes here and there, he was surprised to see that it was the same old department as before. But now he knew why he felt like it was unfamiliar when he first entered the building.

There was new blood in the department.

Roxas cringed. _Okay, that didn't sound right._

He was right, however. There was a considerably large amount of new students flitting around and about, and there were only a handful of faces that he's recognized so far.

The females, especially, seemed to like to flit over to him. Every time they laid eyes on him, they would attempt to flirt with him, and every time, he would try to get away as subtly as possible without wanting to hurt their feelings.

He didn't know if he particularly liked the sudden and immense attention he was getting from the girls, but he did know that this was probably the reason why Axel hadn't picked up his call the first time.

In fact, he had to call Axel for the eighth time before the guy had finally answered his call. Shaking his head, he noticed that he had reached his designation without realizing it, his legs seeming to have remembered the way to this particular room.

The door to the room had a small window to it, allowing Roxas to peek in to see if there was a certain someone inside, as he had an inkling that she would be there. Just as he had thought, he caught sight of a redhead, who seemed to be in deep thought as she stared at the paperwork on her desk.

Knocking on the door as to alert the person inside before opening it, the redhead looked up to see who it was, her thoughtful expression soon fading into one of surprise as her eyes landed on him.

"Oh my— Roxas! Is that you?"

The redhead stood up from her desk, her paperwork completely forgotten on the desk and she strode over to the blonde, enveloping him into a friendly hug. Roxas returned the action, noting how she had grown her hair out a bit more ever since he had last seen her.

Moroboshi Kairi was one of his close friends, along with Axel and Sora, who he had graduated high school with. He had expected them to split up and go on their own ways like most adults had told him, only to find out that they were all going to the same college, and coincidentally, all in the same department. Thus, the group continued to be as close as ever together.

"This is a surprise!" she said as she released him with a big smile on her face. "What brings you here?"

Although the question could be assumed to be asking about his little visit to see her, he knew that she was asking about his sudden return back to Twilight Town instead. Letting out a small sigh that didn't go unnoticed by Kairi, Roxas sat down on one of the nearby desks as she remained where she stood, watching him. "Family business," he replied simply.

Kairi's smile faltered a little. Seeing as how his mood had dropped ever so slightly at his response, she had a feeling that something serious had arose if he had returned back home without notifying her and the others. At his vague answer, she knew that he didn't want to talk about it at the moment.

"How are you?" Roxas asked her, wanting to change the subject.

"I've been well!" Kairi decided to not press on about the situation, for she was certain that he would tell her in due time. She couldn't blame him, since she wasn't as close to him like Axel and Sora were.

Figuring that a joke would lighten up his mood, she dramatically let out a sigh as she delicately placed a hand on her cheek. "Although…" Roxas raised an eyebrow at the wistful expression on her face. "My looks have been keeping me too busy lately," she finished, grinning when Roxas snorted.

"Oh, sure," he said, not buying it and causing a blush to appear on the redhead's cheeks as he gave her a look that said all.

Him and Axel knew that Kairi had been crushing on Sora, who just so happened to share mutual feelings also, ever since high school. But Sora, being typical old Sora, was completely dense whenever she would drop hints that indicated her feelings whatsoever. With the proper pushing and help thanks to Roxas and Axel, who were exasperated beyond that point, the two began to date when they finally confessed to one another.

"A-Anyway, you should come see me when I'm the TA," she said after clearing her throat, this time changing the subject herself. "I can help you skip classes."

She gave him a wink, and Roxas couldn't help but laugh. "Would I, a model student, do that?"

Roxas had to admit though; he wasn't particularly a model student during his high school days. While he wasn't an actual delinquent of some sort, he slacked off and would skip classes every so often no doubt thanks to Axel.

It was only until his last two years did he focus more on his studies, leaving that kind of thing behind.

Still, Kairi liked to tease him about it, just for the sake of bringing back good memories.

* * *

Roxas was now standing, once again, at the entrance of the department building after catching up briefly with Kairi. A text message soon came from Axel, telling him that he and Sora were on their way to meet up with him.

Trying to look busy or preoccupied by using his phone in hopes that no other girls would swarm him again, a shout that closely resembled a wail from the distance caught his attention, footsteps quickly approaching him at an incredibly fast pace.

"Friend, my good friend!"

Before Roxas could look up, a heavy force on his back almost made him topple over for the second time that day. Turning around, he couldn't help but laugh when big spikes of brown hair blocked his vision. "Hey, Sora."

"How have you been?" an overexcited Sora asked, still latched onto Roxas' back.

"Great," Roxas replied happily, before a long arm slung itself around the two guys' shoulders lazily.

"Well, well… Look at you, Roxas," a voice drawled, his tone amused. "Life in the army has done you well, hasn't it?"

A smirk lifted the blonde's lips, for Axel was hinting towards Roxas' more toned and taller build. While he wasn't as tall as Axel, he had grown considerably from the short teenage boy to an adult man—something that Roxas was thankful for as he remembered how short he was bfore.

"What brought you back all of a sudden?" Sora asked curiously, "Problems at home?"

Almost immediately, Roxas' demeanor fell, once again, as thoughts and concerns from the events earlier that afternoon came back to invade his mind.

"Yeah, something's come up at home…" he muttered, shrugging the two guys off of him gently.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"I'm…" Albeit feeling slightly abashed, Roxas finally blurted the words he's been denying to accept ever since he first heard them, "…I'm getting married."

" _Huh?_ "

* * *

A/N: I managed to write this chapter in a span of two days, which is a big accomplishment for me, especially since I'm continuously looking back at the Korean movie script ahaha;; I originally planned to post this chapter later, but I'm very limited on internet access at the moment;; Like I mentioned in the first chapter, these first chapters are going to be closely following the Korean movie with the exception of some parts, but sooner or later, the story line is going to mostly stray from that into some original content~ Also, I'm planning for this story to escalate slowly, so hopefully you guys won't mind that too much. After all, this would mean more frequent updates!

I hope that the parts about the Kingdom Army weren't too confusing since I am making this inspired by the movie, so it's similar to conscription in South Korea if you guys didn't quite get it. For the most part though, I'm just making things up according to my own liking ahaha;;

Thank you for reading! Reviews, support, and feedback are welcome!


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